The ban on Jodhaa Akbar by MP government lifted! A victory for fair play

The ban on Jodhaa Akbar put unilaterally by the MP government has been stayed by the High Court. When the ban was imposed on the movie by the MP government, there were hardly any protests in the state. In fact the few stray protests by the Rajput groups died down in a few days. But will our governments who are more political than social let sleeping dogs lie? No they won't and soon we had a scenario where Government banned a movie expecting trouble when there was none. Some might defend the cation as over zealous but if one looked at the ground situation, it was obvious there were no major Rajput organizations, militant or otherwise who could cause problems or create a law and order problem. It was just a non-performing government trying to score a few brownie points with a small community.

In fact there were a few Rajput groups who protested the move and files a PIL against the government and asked them to revoke the ban. There were also the distributors who were upset by the ban as they felt it highly unnecessary and were keen to cash in on the immense interest them movie has generated.

Thankfully the High Court saw this cheap political stunt by the MP government and had the ban on Jodhaa Akbar revoked. WIth this UTV and Ashutosh Gowariker will be mighty pleased as it will ensure they do not lose on on valuable revenue on the movie. It will also be a sharp reminder to other governments that they cannot play around with the law as they please.

Bad news for Ashutosh G, as Jodhaa Akbar gets banned by unscrupulous MP government

News is just out that Ashutosh Gowariker's epic love drama Jodhaa Akbar, has fallen victim to caste politics and the MP government has banned it from been screened in that state. And this is after the protest were dying down. The Rajput community had asked for a ban a week ago but seeing that their demand were being ignored they slunk away like the snakes they were. But the lame duck government (what else do you call a government which instead of upholding the law plays vote bank politics) decided it was a grea chance to bag the loyalty of the Rajput community. And so they banned the film even though there were no perceivable law and order problems.

(Check below link for news article on Yahoo.co.in
http://in.news.yahoo.com/indianexpress/20080223/r_t_ie_nl_general/tnl-mp-bans-jodhaa-akbar-theatres-threat-aaaedd4_1.html)

In fact only last week a minister Mr. Gaur saw the film and found no problems with the movie and suddenly the CM now finds it a danger to Law and Order and bans it? Mysterious. Actually cheap politicians playing cheaper games.

Under fire Jodhaa Akbar notches up Rs 38.53 cr in 4 days!!!

That will be sweet Sufi music to Ashutosh's ears, wouldn't it? After all the controversies, the unnecessary threats and the fire bombing and protests (which are adding more states to its tally), it is nice to hear of such figures for the very talented and conscientious director.

In only its first 4 days, Jodhaa Akbar has mopped up 38.53 crore from the box office (domestic and international). And there is three days of collections to be added to complete a week. It is UTV Motion Picture release. Last year Om Shanti Om grossed about Rs 42 crore for the entire week and that was a Shah Rukh Khan vehicle. A close second so far has been Akshay Kumar movie Welcome as it grossed about Rs 37 crore in the first week of its release.

Last years Aishwarya-Hrithik starrer Dhoom 2 had total box office collections of Rs 32-33 crore in the first week of its launch.

US territory
After Om Shanti Om (about Rs 6.90 crore), Jodhaa Akbar (6.40 crore) is the second highest Bollywood grosser during the first-four days of its release.

Hrithik's trance dance in 'Jodhaa Akbar' lauded by one and all

Looks like Hrithik's dedication to his craft is paying him rich divedends. His trance dance in 'Jodhaa Akbar' has been widely appreciated and a person no less than Amitabh Bachchan has said "not since Stanley Kubrick's legendary sci-fi '2001: A Space Odyssey' in 1968 had there been such an apocalyptic moment in a film". Now comparing his scene to Stanley Kubrick's movie is a great achievement and is a great pat on the back for Hrithik. He was told that it was moment when Akbar connects with divinity. So it was critical he portrayed a man connecting with God and obviously it has worked well.

Hrithik Roshan said, "I joined the singers to dance with one hand pointing towards heaven, which was receiving the divine gift, while my other hand pointed to the ground, which meant I was connecting the gift received from divinity to people down below. I was the medium, the recipient of divine communication'. Well, I was going to catch the epic movie as it is as I am a huge fan of Ashutosh Gowariker, but now it looks like I also have a scene of the century to look forward to.

Verdict on Jodhaa Akbar is out - its a landmark movie

I was just going through rediff and read a review of Jodhaa Akbar on it. And I was pleased with what I read. The reviewer must have caught a premiere show of Jodhaa Akbar and has sent in a review. Like I expected (and desperately wanted it to be true) the movie is supposed to be brilliant. Apparently if the director had a tighter script and better editing was done this movie would have been a master piece. But if and buts can change the fate of the movie now.

The words used to describe the two principal characters Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are "brings his muscular presence and charismatic personality to make the role his own" and "Some of her dramatic scenes are weakly performed but she whips up excellent chemistry with Hrithik" respectively.

A later review in the Times Of India isn't all that generous. It says the movie is a bit long, and the sub-plots weak. It does acknowledge that the main characters have done a great job, the character actors are sincere and the sets and battle scenes are good.

I hope this movie does well as it will be one the the best movies in the careers of both the main leads - Hrithik (Dhoom:2, Krrish, Lakshya, Koi Mil Gaya, ) and Aishwarya (Provoked, Guru, Guru, Umrao Jaan, Bunty Aur Babli, Shabd, Raincoat, Kuch Naa Kaho, Devdas, Albela, Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Aa Ab Laut Chalen).

Want to check out the review?
http://www.rediff.com/movies/2008/feb/14jodhaa.htm

I think all this suggests it is much more worth than a movie ticket. If that isn't convincing then the fact that the director is a certain Ashutosh Gowariker should be reason enough.

Aishwarya wearing ethnic outfits in Jodhaa Akbar and yet looking hot

I saw some pics of Aishwarya from the hugely anticipated movie Jodhaa Akbar. She is seen wearing ethnic outfits yet looking hot. The costumes are the traditional Ghagra Choli that are still worn in parts of Rajasthan but when you put Ash in them you can imagine how they get sexed up. The outfits show off her belly and yet look dignified.

Lucky for her its a period film and not much skin show was expected as it would give another reason for Abhishek to see red. He was reportedly upset when her much touted smooch with his buddy Hrithik in Dhoom 2. That was also the reason that he was stuck off the wedding invitation lists.




(Image courtesy Rediff)

Will the Jodhaa Akbar Rajput/relation controversy affect the film?

The furore about whether Jodhaa Bai was Emperor Akbar's wife or daughter-in-law hasn't died down like I thought it might. The group making noises are a small fringe group and so lack the political muscle or social base. And add to that it is almost impossible to confirm or deny who Akbar married or didn't. He had 34 wives according to reports in the media! So how is one to know if any of these these women are not Jodhaa Bai and if the Muslim women listed in history are Hindu women with their Muslim names after conversion.

Rediff has a well written article about the story. Click on the link below for more details.

http://www.rediff.com/movies/2008/feb/06jodha.htm

It also could be a well orchestrated campaign to rustle up some crucial media coverage of a film which is of epic proportions. Such a big budget will need to draw in people in large numbers to ensure it does earn money for its producers. And Indians are notorius for ignoring good historical movies. Must be the lack of appreciation of our own culture and traditions. The Mughal rule impacted the polity and landscape of India in a major way and hence educated Indians would be more than interested in such a story straddling that era of history.

But we all know this doesn't hold true, as the masses look at cinema for escapist fantasies. I hope and pray Jodhaa Akbar is made well and interestingly so that it succeeds and a talented director like Ashutosh Gowariker is suitably rewarded for making good cinema.

It will also be a landmark film for Hrithik and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as they need to true blue movie like this in their portfolio to justify the confidence of the industry in their talents. Though Hrithik has Koi Mil Gaya, Lakshya and Mission Kashmir in his bag he needs to get the big roles right. Same for Aishwarya who has mostly dominated the media for non-filmy reasons than those related to great roles. She does have Iruvar, The Raincoat, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Provoked and Guru but she is also remembered for Kajra Re and Kambakth Ishq. So they both need to movie like Jodhaa Akbar on their resume.

Jodhaa Akbar - Another movie, another controversy....

Another controversy has reared its ugly head with a group from the Rajput community opposing the facts presented in the Jodhaa Akbar movie. They claim that Jodhaa bai was not Akbars wife as shown in the movie and neither was she the daughter of the Amer king. She was according to them Akbars daughter-in-law and was the daughter of a Marwar king.

As far as I have learnt history all through school and at all levels that Jodhaa Bai was Akbar's wife. So if this is no right and history has been distorted then I don't think Ashutosh Gowarikar is the one doing it. He is merely continuing the legend as we know it. I would like to say to this obscure Rajout group, where were you when Mughal-e-Azam was released and if history is wrong then they should get the right facts and evidences and campaign to have it corrected at the right levels. You can neither change nor create history by creating such a fuss. Start a campaign and have these facts proved at the national level.

I sincerely hope that this does not balloon into a major problem as Ashutosh has gone with what is popular peception and would never have gone and tried to fidget with history. And the is group has popped up on the eve of the release. Where were they so far? Banished by Akbar to the hinterlands?

Ashutosh's labor of love...Jodhaa Akbar

I was reading about the making of Jodhaa Akbar and I feel vindicated about the vision and meticulousness of Ashutosh Gowariker. Apparently the writer Haidar Ali had researched about the life and times of Akbar quite thoroughly with a Rajasthani historian. In spite of this Ashutosh later had the story checked for factual accuracy and authenticity. So we can be rest assured of seeing a beautiful and accurate movie without extra embellishments to juice up the era.

He is according to me one of the finest directors in our Industry. Not only because of Lagaan but because of Swades. I found Swades (Shahrukh Khan)so much more topical, contemporary and meaningful, if not a wee bit idealistic. But that movie made me a Gowariker fan for life. I am looking forward to Jodhaa Akbar and I will see it, even if the reviews are not too good; because I feel it will be a thoughtful bit of cinema. Bring it on Hrithik and Aishwarya Rai. :-)